1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP), a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis composition and kit each including the CCP, a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis method using the CCP, the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis composition or kit, and a method of screening a diagnostic marker for rheumatoid arthritis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rheumatoid arthritis (“RA”) is a chronic, inflammatory disease that may occur due to autoimmunization of unknown cause. The onset of RA may cause inflammation and pain in the intraarticular synovium (synovial membrane). Sustained pain from RA may make the inflammatory synovial tissue grow into bone and cartilage, and thus may lead to articular deformation and finally behavior disorder. Although no drug for complete cure of RA is available yet, neglecting such symptoms of RA for a long time since its onset may cause articular deformation and spread of inflammation that may damage other organs. Accordingly, it is very crucial to early diagnose and treat RA.
Since an accurate diagnostic method for RA is not currently available, diagnosis for RA is based on a comprehensive analysis of pathognomonic symptoms, test results, and the like. However, systemic lupus erythemathode (SLE), arthralgia, or osteoarthritis (OA) patients with similar symptoms to RA may be confused with early-stage RA patients, and accurate diagnosis for RA is still difficult.
Currently available diagnostic markers for RA include a rheumatoid factor (RF) and an anti-CCP antibody. However, these diagnostic markers have a lower specificity with respect to non-rheumatoid arthritis patients than to normal patients. Therefore, there are needs to discover novel RA diagnostic markers with a high sensitivity and a high specificity with respect to non-rheumatoid arthritis and to develop a diagnostic method for RA by using such novel diagnostic markers.